The first puck of 2014-15 was dropped Sept. 21, a preseason game between the Blue Jackets and Hurricanes in Carolina. There have been 181 NHL contests in all played between the exhibition schedule and regular season, and there have been zero suspensions for on-ice infractions handed down by the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
Zero. In 181 games.
It's clear that NHL players have cleaned up their acts to the point where Stephane Quintal can put his dogs up on his desk at the NHL offices, puff on a cigar and say, "Man, I'm blowing away Brendan Shanahan at this job!"
Or maybe he's just not as hard on questionable hits as his predecessor.
It's impossible to say the number of hits that could have resulted in suspensions, but there are three that stand out for me to varying degrees:
1. Radko Gudas Destroys the Skull of Scottie Upshall
I really don't know how Gudas avoided a four-game suspension, never mind zero suspension. Gudas took about two strides and hit a defenseless player in the head, a hit that was completely avoidable. The argument that ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Dave Lozo
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October 21st, 2014 by Dave Lozo Leave a reply »
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